It's August. Punnamadakkayal is all decked up to host the latest edition of world’s biggest snake boat race, the Nehru Trophy Boat Race (NTBR). The air is charged up. Conversations at the tea shops and toddy shop inevitably revolve around the competition which will decide who rules the waves. However, this excitement is the only thing that has remained constant. The Nehru Trophy Boat Race has evolved. And how
Long long ago, the boats used to be rowed by local people – the fishermen, the farmers and the other workers who toiled on the land. They used to gather in the evening for trails. But now, the changes start here. And it costs an arm and a leg. Yes, from being a Kuttanadan affair, this traditional boat racing in the backwaters of Kerala has changed a lot indeed.
A decade and the change of a lifetime
Flashback to the early 1990s. The boat races were a pass time – competitive, and sporty. UBC Kainakari, the famous boat racing club known for its strong working class base, started to pay the rowers only after 1990.
Of course, there had been some experiments here and there, earlier also; like coating the boat with engine oil instead of sardine oil to ensure a smooth sail through waters. In 2005, for the first time in the history of the boat racing, the Kumarakom Town Boat Club participated in the event with a polished boat, the Payippadan Vallam. They won the trophy that time and with it, a new trend was created. But more changes, radical ones were yet to come.
Jiji, Jesus, and that killer formula
In 2006, posing a great challenge to the monopoly of Kuttanad in the boat race, the Jesus Boat Club from Kollam entered the fray in style. And in 2008, the NRI business man Jiji Jacob Pollayil, a native of Kuttanad, ushered in the era of professionalism in the boat race, by starting an exclusive training camp for the oarsmen. The first such camp was held at Pallathuruthi in a temporary tent. The team members stayed together for 12 days. Systematic exercise, healthy wholesome food, and trial twice a day - a new chapter in training had begun. The experiment paid off. The club lifted the coveted Nehru Trophy in the boat race competition, which is known as the Olympics of water sports. But the real game changer was yet to come.
For the 2010 boat race, Jiji Jacob conducted the camp of his team at an estate in Chellar Koil near Kumali in Idukki. The camp was a complete luxury: A railing to train 80 oarsmen at a go, running track, gymnasium, dormitory, a canteen and the service of a medical team! Ironically, the Jesus Club team which came with preparations unheard of in the history of the boat race had to be satisfied with a third position in the heats that year. However, it paved the way for professional training regime in the boat race.
Enter the troops; the prize fight tightens
The spirit of the competition spiked up, year by year and the race for Nehru Trophy invented a lot many novel ideas for grooming a winning team. 2011, the UBC Kainakari roped in army men from Bengaluru as oarsmen to row Muttel Kainakari snake boat. That year no boat was declared the winner though. However, from that year onwards, armed forces rowers became an inseparable part of a team combination.
After 2011, every team that lifted the Nehru Trophy had trained hands of the Indian Army, Indian Navy and Sports Authority of India on board. Only four teams that clock the best time to finish will be eligible to compete in the finals. That means a team should cover the distance of 1,200 meters in just 4.5 minutes or less. By simple calculation, each participant should throw his oar at least 80 times per minute! In other words, the oarsmen with a super physique only could perform at that level.
If the regulation on the number of rowers from other states had not been imposed, the representation of native oarsmen would have been minimal at least in half a dozen teams. From this year onwards, the organizers, put a cap on the number of inter-state rowers and limited it to 25% of the total team strength.
Karas give way to brawn
At the beginning of the boat race, it was virtually a fest of the villagers nearby. Each kara or the area represented by the clubs had their own favorite teams. And the competition was between these karas and the routers belonged to these villages; then some rowers were obese, still, others were pot bellied. But it was not a problem at all for the friendly gathering of villagers who came to watch the traditional backwater celebration in its simpler form. It has changed forever. Unlike the earlier times, the villagers are not the main participants of an A-class race team anymore.
There is a neck to neck competition among the clubs to select youths with the perfect body mass index and bouncing muscles to build their teams. The villagers, even if they want to get a chance to be part of the teams, have to be able to throw the paddle at least 60-70 times per minute.
But when it comes to the army hands, it is not even compulsory to know how to hold the paddle. However, the leading captains will give them some lessons on the competition during the training sessions. The diet also changed, earlier the oarsmen used to be fed lavishly on beef; now it has given way to better diet plans. Eggs, banana, and pulses are served as snacks to keep the energy levels high.
Even the oars have changed. In the place of the long slender oars, broad ones are widely being used now. Each oar, used during the training session weighs around 1,350 grams, but when it comes to the real competition, slightly lighter oars are preferred.
Earlier the rowers used to take the same boat in which they had been training for the final race also. But nowadays, they preserve the boat exclusively for the D- day and use some old ones for the trials to avoid the risk of damage.
Finishing touches
The expenses for preparing a team for the race are mounting like anything. The cost may sometimes even cross the amount needed to get a new snake boat built. That means the clubs will have to find an amount very close to Rs. 1 crore!
Also read: Decoding Nehru Trophy Boat race and why you should add it to your Kerala itinerary
